Augustin Hadelich (born April 4, 1984) is an Italian-German-American

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning classical violinist.

Biography

Early life and education

Augustin Hadelich was born in Cecina, Italy, to German parents. His two older brothers were already playing cello and piano when Hadelich (age 5) began his studies on the violin with his father, an agriculturalist and amateur cellist. In his early musical development, Hadelich progressed in his studies through irregular lessons and masterclasses from violinists traveling near the Hadelich farm in rural Tuscany, including

Uto Ughi Bruto Diodato "Uto" Ughi (; born 21 January 1944) is an Italian violinist and conductor. He was the music director of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia between 1987 and 1992. He is considered one of Italy's greatest living ...

, Christoph Poppen,

Igor Ozim Igor Ozim (born 9 May 1931) is a Slovenian classical violinist and pedagogue, based in Salzburg, Austria. Career Igor Ozim was born in 1931 in Ljubljana. He came from a musical family: both parents played the piano and his brother the violin. At ...

, and

Norbert Brainin Norbert Brainin, OBE (12 March 1923 in Vienna – 10 April 2005 in London) was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets. Because of Brainin's Jewish origin, he was driven out of Vie ...

. Hadelich enjoyed a blossoming career as a

wunderkind A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

violinist, pianist, and composer in Germany. In 1999, Hadelich was injured in a fire on his family's farm in Italy, and was airlifted to be treated in Germany. The accident left Hadelich unable to play for over a year. "It is perhaps because of this experience—because I had this moment where I wasn't sure if I would ever play the violin again—that I appreciate what is happening in my life more. I really try to enjoy every moment. It made me realize how important music was to me," Hadelich has commented. After his recovery, Hadelich graduated summa cum laude from the Instituto Mascagni in Livorno, Italy, and successfully auditioned for admission to

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. From 2004 to 2007, Hadelich studied at Juilliard with Joel Smirnoff, graduating with a Graduate Diploma (2005) and an Artist Diploma (2007). After graduating, Hadelich continued to make his home in New York and became an American citizen in 2014.

Career

Shortly after winning first prize at the

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) is a Classical music, classical violin competition which takes place once every four years in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1982, "The Indianapolis" has bee ...

in 2006, Augustin Hadelich proved himself ready for the world stage through several short-notice substitutions with major orchestras. In 2008 he filled in for

Julian Rachlin Julian Rachlin (born 8 December 1974) is a Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor. Background and early life Born in Vilnius, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien and st ...

at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, performing with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. In 2010, Hadelich made his

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

debut at the Bravo! Vail Festival substituting for violinist

Nikolaj Znaider Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (born 5 July 1975 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor. Biography Szeps-Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from Poland to Israel, and his mot ...

. In the ensuing decade he has returned to the

and the

numerous times and performed with all other major orchestras in North America, such as the

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...

, Chicago Symphony,

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, San Francisco Symphony, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Houston, Minnesota, Montréal, Oregon, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Utah and Vancouver. Hadelich has also made his debuts with prestigious orchestras in Europe and Asia, among them the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestr ...

, the

Munich Philharmonic The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Ra ...

, the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, the,

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

, the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the " ...

, the

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra began as the ''New Symphony Orchestra'' o ...

(Tokyo), and the

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...

. In 2019 he was named Artist in Association with the

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (german: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the ''Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, G ...

in Hamburg, a title he will hold for 3 years. Hadelich is known to perform a wide range of repertoire. Although he is often scheduled to perform from the standard violin concerto repertoire (

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

, etc.), he is also a champion of contemporary works, such as the violin concertos by

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), ''V ...

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

and

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

, and recital works by

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...

, David Lang, György Kurtag,

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western ...

and

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As a ...

Awards and accolades

Augustin Hadelich was named the 2018 "Instrumentalist of the Year" by

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

. In December 2017, Hadelich was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

in the UK. In February 2016, Hadelich won his first

Award for the

Best Classical Instrumental Solo The Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo was first awarded during the annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2012. It combines the previous categories for Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra), Best Inst ...

category at the 58th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles for his performance of

’s Violin Concerto, ‘

L'arbre des songes ''L'arbre des songes'' (''The Tree of Dreams'') is a violin concerto written by Henri Dutilleux between 1983 and 1985. It is dedicated to Isaac Stern. This concerto is the result of the composer's efforts in unifying large-scale works. The process ...

’, with the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestra ...

and music director

Ludovic Morlot Ludovic Morlot (born 11 December 1973) is a French conductor. Early years Morlot was born in Lyon on 11 December 1973. As a youth, he trained as a violinist. He later attended the Royal Academy of Music, and began his studies in conducting in L ...

on the Seattle Symphony Media label. In October 2015, Hadelich became the inaugural winner of the Warner Music Prize, which includes a grant of $100,000 and a recording opportunity with Warner Classics. Hadelich won the gold medal at the 2006

, where he also received several additional accolades, including the best performance of a Romantic concerto, Classical concerto, Beethoven sonata, violin sonata other than Beethoven,

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

work, commissioned work, encore piece and Paganini caprice. Hadelich has also received an

Avery Fisher Avery Robert Fisher (March 4, 1906 – February 26, 1994) was an amateur violinist, a pioneer in the field of high fidelity sound reproduction, founder of the Philharmonic Radio Company and Fisher Electronics, and a philanthropist who donated m ...

Career Grant (2009), a

Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Borletti-Buitoni Trust () (BBT) was established as a charitable trust in 2002 to help young musicians throughout the world. The Trust assists classical instrumentalists, ensembles and singers in their early 20s and 30s to further develop their ...

Fellowship (2011) and

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

’s Martin E. Segal Award (2012).

Discography

Augustin Hadelich records exclusively for the

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, W ...

label, and his first recording for the label, of Paganini's 24 Caprices for solo violin, was released in January 2018. In April 2019, Warner Classics released Hadelich's recording of the concertos by

and Ligeti with the

Norwegian Radio Orchestra The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

conducted by

Miguel Harth-Bedoya Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya (born 1968) is a Peruvian conductor. He was formerly music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. He is currently Direct ...

. For his 2015 recording of

’s Violin Concerto ('

') with the

and

, on the Seattle Symphony's label, Hadelich was awarded the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. 2017 saw the release of Hadelich's recording of live performances of the

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

and Lalo's

Symphonie Espagnole The ''Symphonie espagnole'' in D minor, Op. 21, is a work for violin and orchestra by Édouard Lalo. History The work was written in 1874 for violinist Pablo Sarasate, and premiered in Paris on February 7, 1875. Although called a "Spanish Sympho ...

were released on the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

label. Previously to signing with Warner Classics, Hadelich released six CDs for the AVIE label between 2009 and 2016. His 2014 album of the violin concertos of

and

with

Hannu Lintu Hannu Petteri Lintu (born 13 October 1967) is a Finnish conductor. Biography Lintu was born in Rauma. He studied piano and cello at the Turku Conservatory and at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied conducting with Atso Almila, and later with ...

and the

was nominated for a Gramophone award, and his 2016 duo album with pianist

Joyce Yang Joyce Yang (Korean name 양희원, born 11 April 1986 in Seoul, Korea) is a classical pianist. Yang was awarded the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 19. During the same competition, Joyce was also ...

was nominated for a 2018 Grammy Award in the category for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance. Hadelich also released two albums for

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

in 2008 and 2009.

Complete recordings

–

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

, 12 Fantasias for solo violin, 2007 *

–

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, complete violin concertos with Cologne Chamber Orchestra, 2008 *Avie – ''Flying Solo'': works by Bartók / Paganini / Ysaÿe / Zimmerman, 2009 *Avie – ''Echoes of Paris'': works by

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...

– with Robert Kulek, piano, 2011 *Avie – ''Histoire du Tango'': works by Piazzolla /

De Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

/ Paganini /

Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

– with Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar, 2013 *Avie –

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, Violin Concerto (''Concentric Paths'') with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and

, 2014 *Avie – Bartók, Violin Concerto No. 2 /

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

– Norwegian Radio Orchestra,

(conductor), 2015 *Seattle Symphony Media –

Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

, L'arbre des songes – Seattle Symphony,

(cond.), 2015 *Avie – works by Franck / Kurtág / Previn /

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

– with

, piano, 2016 *London Philharmonic –

/ Lalo,

– London Philharmonic Orchestra,

Vasily Petrenko Vasily Eduardovich Petrenko (russian: Васи́лий Эдуа́рдович Петре́нко; born 7 July 1976) is a Russian-British conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra, music director of the Roy ...

(cond.),

Omer Meir Wellber Omer Meir Wellber (Hebrew: עומר מאיר ולבר; born 28 October 1981, Beersheba) is an Israeli conductor and composer. Biography Wellber began musical studies at age 5, on accordion and piano. He became a composition student of Tania Tale ...

(cond.), 2017 *Cantaloupe Music – David Lang, "Mystery Sonatas", 2018 *Warner Classics – Paganini, 24 Caprices for solo violin, 2018 *Warner Classics –

and Ligeti Violin Concertos – Norwegian Radio Orchestra,

(conductor), Recorded 2017/2018, released 2019 *Warner Classics – ''Bohemian Tales'' –

Violin Concerto (Dvořák) The Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 (B. 96 / B. 108), is a concerto for violin and orchestra composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1879. It was premiered in Prague on October 14, 1883. by František Ondříček, who also gave the Vienna and London ...

, works by Antonín Dvorák, Leos Janácek, Josef Suk / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra,

Jakub Hrůša Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno), is a Czech conductor. Education Hrůša is the son of the architect Petr Hrůša. Hrůša studied piano and trombone, and developed an interest in conducting, during his years at Gymnázium třída K ...

(conductor), 2020 *Warner Classics –

Sonatas & Partitas, 2021

Instrument

From October 2006 until August 2010, Hadelich performed with the 1683 "ex-Gingold"

Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloquia ...

as the standing first-prize winner of the Indianapolis Competition. Hadelich then performed with the 1723 Kiesewetter Stradivarius violin, on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the Stradivari Society of Chicago. Hadelich currently performs with the 1744 "Leduc / Szeryng"

Guarneri del Gesu Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his in ...

lent to him through the Tarisio Trust for an extended period.

References

External links

*
Augustin Hadelich's YouTube channel

Schmidt Artists – general management of Augustin Hadelich

Homepage of the Indianapolis competition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadelich, Augustin Italian violinists American violinists German violinists German male violinists Living people Burn survivors 1984 births 21st-century violinists 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century German male musicians People from Cecina, Tuscany